Automatic feed mechanism for loading ordnance, tools, and the like



Feb. 12, 1946. A GAZDA 2,394,606

AUTOMATIC FEED MECHANISM FOR LOADING ORDNANCE, TOOLS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 17, 1943 it I H j. 4

(/9722'03'726 ga eia Patented Feb. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES Q'FFTICE AUTOMATIOFEED MECHANISlVLFOR LOAD- '-ING- ORDNAN CE, *TO'OLS, THE LIKE Antoine Gazda, Providenca; Rs I. Application February 17, 1943,-"Serial-No., 476,240

' 2 Glaims. \(C1.:.89-.-34)

IA well-knowntype-of automatic feed mecha- :nism, particularly useful for loading .firearms withammunition, consists essentiallyofa magazine adapted to be mountedon the firearm to be fed, and spring-actuated means comprising a pusher or follower adapted, under the influence of the spring, to. move the" ammunition through a'spiral path in the magazine'and discharging into'the firearms. The said type of feed mechanism involves a-clutch mechanism whereby the spring and follower may be connected and disconnectedat will. Accordingto this known relationship of parts, the'actuatingspring aswell'as the means whereby the spring and follower-may be releasably coupled are housed within the bounds of the magazine proper so that theefiective capacity of the magazine is commensurately reduced. Moreoven'while it is possible to dis- ,charge all the ammunition'from the magazine proper of the known mechanism, no means is providedfor discharging the last two or three cartridges from the, mouthpiece or ejecting slot of the'magazine," and the result of this is further to reduce the effective capacity of the device.

An embodiment of automatic feed mechanism of the Character above outlined is described in the applicants copending applicatiomserial No. 290,291, filed August15, 1939, for A drum type cartridge magazine," now U. S. Patent No. 2,367,572, dated Jan. 16, 1945.

A primary object of the present invention is the obviation of the disadvantages. of the prior construction of the aforedescribed type.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel relationship of parts wherein maximum advantage ma be'taken of the holding capacity of the magazine proper.

To this end, briefly stated, the parts are so constructed and arranged as to remove the follower-actuating spring means as well as the means for con- 'pling and uncoupling the saidspring means and follower from within the bounds of the magazine proper.

'Still'another object of the invention is the provision; in a device-of. the character described, of-means wherebycomplete evacuation of the magazine and discharge mouthpiece may be effected, "thus making it possible actually to realize the full capacity of the magazine. To

this end,'a new'formof'articulated'follower is provided which, as will hereinafter more specifically appear, enables a full and complete discharge of the magazine to be realized.

Presently preferred embodiments of the inven- -tion areshowmsolely-by way of example, on the guiding channel 3 for the cartridges 4.

axially of the device;

.Fig. "2 is asectional-view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of'Fig; l;

.Fig.j4 isa fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale, of'the meansfor coupling and uncoupling the spring and follower of the device;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional-view, on an enlarged scaie and with parts in elevation, of one form of magazine follower; and

Fig. 6is aj'fragmentary sectional view, on*an enlargedv scale: and with parts in elevation, of asecond' formof magazine, follower according to this invention.

As-shown moreparticularly in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, referenceinumeral'l designates a magazine casing provided .with a spiral ledge 2 extending 'fromone wall thereof to a point just short of the opposite ,wall, thus defining a fixed spiral Channel '3 terminates inavmouthpiece or ejecting slot 5 which cooperates with-a suitable inlet on firearm 6 on which the automatic cartridge feedingdevice may be mounted in the usual manner.

Rotatablymounted'substantially centrally of the magazine casing I is'ahollow shaft? which, asqshown :more particularly in Fig. 1, extends onone side ,to-aconsiderable distance beyond the, casing and is provided-with' a crankz8 which is pref erably-removably mounted on the square enlargement Ella-of sleeve it. The latter is -mounted onshaft 1- immediately exteriorly of casing; l,-an.d itself extends through spring housing ll which-is integrally associated with cas- A' spiral spring 12' is arranged on sleeve m in housingl l,-one end of the spring being secured tothe latter by a rivet or thelike as shown, while theother endis secured to'the sleeve 1 0.

On the one end of shaft I is mounted a dentated coupling sleeve I3, the toothed end of which is adapted for releasable engagement with the juxtaposed toothed end of sleeve Ill, Coil spring I4 is interposed between stud end 9 and sleeve I3, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and normally urges the coupling parts I and I3 into interengagement. One or more lugs I provided on shaft I are received in corresponding recesses It in sleeve I3 to operativel interconnect these two parts. The recesses I8 are relatively elongated to allow relative sliding displacement of sleeve I3 upon uncoupling of the parts I0 and I3.

Mounted on shaft I adjacent the other end thereof and extending into the space left between the free edge of spiral ledge 2 and the magazine casing wall, is a carrier disk IT. This disk carries the magazine follower which is shown on the drawing in two embodiments. Referring first to the embodiment of Fig. 5, the follower comprises a bar-shaped magazine follower slide I8 which extends into the channel 3 and is engaged,

'at one end thereof, through a radial slot I9 in disk H, as shown in Fig. l. The follower slide I8 slides along the slot as the channel 3 is progressively charged or discharged. Bearing against the adjacent cartridge 4 is a fitted magazine follower 20, one side of which is arcuate to adapt it to the arcuate cartridge casing surface. Follower 20 is articulated to slide I8 through the medium oflinks 2 I.

When loading the magazine according to the embodiment of the invention thus described, the cartridges 5 are introduced successively into the spiral guiding channel 3 until the magazine is in the almost fully loaded position shown in Fig.

2. During this loading operation the follower 20, which was in that portion of the channel nearest the mouthpiece 5 at the beginning of the operation, is moved back away from the mouthpiece, entraining therewith and thus rotating the disk I1 and shaft I counter clockwise as seen in Fig. 3. Before loading the magazine, member I3 is detached from member III by movement against the flanged end 9 of shaft I in opposition to spring I 4, thereby dissociatingmember I 0 completely from shaft I and'connected parts. After loading the magazine, member I0 is turned by means of the crank 8 to tension the, spring I2, whereupon, upon restoring member I 3 to coupling relationship with member III, the device is ready to operate. The tensioned spiral spring I2 acts on the composite follower member I 8, '20, 2| through the medium of coupling I0, I 3, shaft I and disk I.', thus moving the cartridges toward the outlet of the guiding channel 3. The articulated and therefore flexible character of the composite follower member makes it possible, as shown in Fig. 5, to discharge all the cartridges from the magazine, notwithstanding the sharp change in the direction of movement due to the disposition of the mouthpiece.

An alternative embodiment of the follower construction is illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawing. Here, an intermediate portion of the follower slide I8 is recessed to provide a housing 22 for a collapsible cup-shaped pusher 23 which is normally retained therein against the pressure of the pusher spring 24, as shownin broken lines in .Fig. 6. In this form of the invention, the slide member is shaped at its leading surface 25 to adapt it to the shape of the cartridge being pushed, As the pusher reaches its end position,

the leadingv portion thereof enters into a recess 26 provided in the mouthpiece 5', and the collapsible pusher 23 is'then slid outwardly to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6, thereby ejecting all the cartridges, Means (not shown) may be provided for preventing removal of the pusher 23 from the slide I8. In other respects, the parts are as hereinbefore described.

It is apparent that, by the relationships of parts above described, the objects of the present invention are fully realized and that the interior of the magazine proper is substantially entirely available for the reception of cartridges---the clutch and spring mechanisms being situated on the exterior thereof-and that the contents of the magazine maybe fully discharged down to the very last cartridge. It is manifestly a significant advantage to be able, without changing the size of the magazine proper, to make available for the automatic firearm to which it is fitted a considerably increased quantity of ammunition.

While the invention has above been described with particular reference to the automatic feeding of cartridges to a gun, it is apparent that the identical relationships of parts may be employed for automatically feeding other items to other associated devices, for example, metal billets to machines for operating thereon, etc.

The invention is not to be limited to the details above described by way of illustration, and it is manifest that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, for instance, in'

the embodiment of Fig. 6, spring 24 may be omitted andpusher 23 may be operated by the action of gravity.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: V 7

1. Drum type means for automaticall feeding a plurality of articles, comprising a casing defining a magazine proper for said articles, means in said magazine proper defining a guiding channel for said articles, a delivery mouthpiece in which said channel terminates, a multi-part magazine follower operating in said channel and having a part thereof in abutting relationship with one of said articles, a follower actuating disk within said casing arranged in juxtaposition to but exteriorly of said magazine proper,'said disk being operatively connected with said follower, a. rotatable shaft extending substantially centrally through said casing and projecting therebeyond atthe side thereof remote from said disk, said disk being integrally associated with said shaft, a spring positioned exteriorly of said casing about said shaft for placing said disk and follower under tension, whereby said follower is urged against and rotatable with.respect to the latter, and

means comprising a slidable coupling sleeve arranged for relative sliding movement on said shaft exteriorly of said spring and engageable with and disengageable from said first-named sleeve for connecting and disconnecting said spring and follower, and means interconnecting said coupling sleeve and shaft forconjoint rotation. K

2. Drum type means'for automaticall feeding a plurality of articles, comprising a casing defining a magazine proper for said articles, means in said magazine proper defining a guiding channel for said articles, a delivery mouthpiece in which said channel terminates and arranged at a substantial angle relative to said channel, a multi-part magazine follower operating insald channel and having a part thereof in abutting relationship with one of said articles, a follower actuating disk within said casing arranged in juxtaposition to but exteriorly of said magazine proper, said disk being operatively connected with said follower, said disk and follower constituting means for moving and ejecting all said articles from said mouthpiece and said article-abutting part including a plurality of interconnected and mutually relatively movable elements, at least one of such elements being in the said abutting relationship with the last article when the latter is discharged from said mouthpiece, a rotatable shaft extending substantially centrally through said casing and projecting therebeyond at the side thereof remote from said disk, said disk being integrally associated with said shaft, a spring positioned exteriorly of said casing about said shaft 15 sleeve and shaft for conjoint rotation.

ANTOINE GAZDA. 

